SPORTS SHORTS 117: BOB ARUM SAYS MONEY PROBLEMS CAUSE THE CANCELLATION OF THE MANNY PACQUIAO-TERENCE CRAWFORD FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 29 Apr 2021
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum announced the proposed Manny Pacquiao vs. Terence Crawford WBO welterweight title fight is dead, as told to BoxingScene. Arum confirmed a deal was arrived at for Crawford to face Pacquiao on June 5 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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The question was that the money was not put up on the deadline set. There were promises of financial resources for the said event but did not materialize.
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“Look, what happened to us in Abu Dhabi was we had signed contracts and everything and they were supposed to put up the money,” Arum told Dan Rafael of BoxingScene.com. “Well, I’ve been waiting two weeks for the money. Nobody put up the money after promising they would."
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“Both (Pacquiao and Crawford) had agreed and we had a signed agreement from this group in Abu Dhabi subject to the money getting put up by the Abu Dhabi government.” When the deadlines arrived and money was not coming, the fight was cancelled, clarified Arum.
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Arum said he was surely disappointed on it. The foreign investors made these deals and they seemed sincere. Then somebody suddenly said "Hey, with the Covid, who’s coming?" He added that because of the coronavirus pandemic, everybody is relying on funds from outside the United States.
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Arum did not divulge the amount in dollars the investors had agreed to raise. The veteran promoter said the deal was brokered by former Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz. But Arum admitted that due to the coronavirus pandemic it is impossible to gather a large crowd in the UAE for the fight this coming summer.
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Arum has a similar predicament with Saudi Arabian investors who promised to raise a $150 million site fee for the undisputed heavyweight world championship fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua also scheduled this summer.
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Arum explained though that Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, Joshua's promoter who initiated the site deal, guaranteed an obligatory deal two weeks have past but until now was not able to produce an agreement with no word from him as of the present.
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The rumored split for the fight was 80-20, with Pacquiao getting $40 million while Crawford may receive $10 million. Investors thought the fight between Pacquiao and Crawford could not generate $50 million or more in revenues this year with the ongoing pandemic.
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Arum cited that even with Pacquiao-Crawford fight already out of the picture, he is planning another Crawford match up. "We’re gonna have a fight. Crawford will be in the ring by September,” Arum said. “We have certain (names) but I’m not going to reveal it until I’ve got it done.”
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Arum will search an opponent outside of Top Rank. "It’s not a Top Rank boxer,” Arum said. Arum had a difficult time finding big name opponents for Crawford because the top welterweights are mostly with Premier Boxing Champions facing each other.
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Unified IBF and WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. is the opponent which several fans claim could provide one of the biggest fights if both sides could agree.
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Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs), age 33 years of Omaha, Nebraska, has won world titles in three weight classes and has made four welterweight defenses, most recently a fourth-round knockout of former titlist Kell Brook.
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He defeated Australia's Jeff Horn by 9th round TKO on June 9, 2018 to win the WBO welterweight title who won over Pacquiao by a contested unanimous decision.
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Crawford defended it four times against José Benavidez Jr. of United States by 12th round TKO, Amir Khan of United Kingdom by 6th round TKO, Lithuanian Egidijus Kavaliauskas by 9th round TKO, and Kell Brook of United Kingdom by 4th round TKO.
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Crawford’s promotional agreement with Top Rank will expire in October this year. It was reported that he will move on to PBC where most of the best welterweights are like Manny Pacquiao, Errol Spence Jr, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman.
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FIGHT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 30 London
Moruti Mthalane (South Africa) vs. Sunny Edwards (United Kingdom) for Mthalane’s IBF Flyweight title
Michael Conlan (United Kingdom) vs. Ionut Baluta (Romania), Junior Featherweight
Troy Williamson (United Kingdom) vs. Kieran Smith (United Kingdom), Junior Middleweight
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The Phoenix Suns ended the second-longest active playoff drought in the NBA when they got a playoff slot with a 109-101 win over the LA Clippers. The Suns (44-18) have not entered the playoffs since 2010, when Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire were there. The 10-season dearth tied for fifth longest all time in the NBA.
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Yuriorkis Gamboa of Cuba won the 2004 Athens Olympic gold medal in the flyweight class. He became professional world champion winning the WBA featherweight (2004-present) and IBF featherweight (2010-2011) titles.
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Frankie Genaro of USA won the 1920 London Olympic gold medal in the flyweight class. He became professional world champion winning the NBA flyweight (1928-1931) title.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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